US-12628435-B2 - Self-repairing multi-junction photovoltaic cell and method for self-repairing such a cell

US12628435B2US 12628435 B2US12628435 B2US 12628435B2US-12628435-B2

Abstract

A photovoltaic cell configured to enable the use of first photovoltaic stacks with perovskite absorber in a solar panel as an electrical generator on the sunlight side of the solar panel, while second photovoltaic stacks with perovskite absorber that are on the shadow side of the solar panel undergo a self-repair process during the day. A photovoltaic device includes a solar panel provided with such photovoltaic cells and further includes an electrical connection device adapted to connect electrodes of stacks with perovskite absorber that are on the sunlight side in order to create a multi-junction photovoltaic generator, the connection device being adapted to connect the electrodes of stacks on the shadow side of the solar panel to a regeneration module.

Inventors

Jean-Baptiste Puel

Assignees

ELECTRICITE DE FRANCE

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20241114
Priority Date: 20231117

Claims (12)

1 . A multi-junction photovoltaic cell comprising a photovoltaic assembly, wherein from a first face of the assembly to a second face of the assembly the multi-junction solar cell comprises: a first photovoltaic stack comprising a first transparent electrical contact layer, at least a first selective charge extraction layer, at least a second selective charge extraction layer and a second transparent electrical contact layer, a first electrode for connecting the first transparent electrical contact layer to the at least a first selective charge extraction layer of the first photovoltaic stack, a second electrode for connecting the second transparent electrical contact layer to the at least second selective charge extraction layer of said first photovoltaic stack, a first transparent insulating layer, a second photovoltaic stack comprising a first transparent electrical contact layer, at least a first selective charge extraction layer, at least a second selective charge extraction layer and a second transparent electrical contact layer, a third electrode for connecting the first transparent electrical contact layer to the at least second selective charge extraction layer of the second photovoltaic stack, a fourth electrode for connecting the second transparent electrical contact layer to the at least first selective charge extraction layer of said second photovoltaic stack, a second transparent insulating layer, a third photovoltaic stack comprising a first transparent electrical contact layer, at least a first selective charge extraction layer, at least a second selective charge extraction layer and a second transparent electrical contact layer, a fifth electrode for connecting the first transparent electrical contact layer to the at least first selective charge extraction layer of the third photovoltaic stack, a sixth electrode for connecting the second transparent electrical contact layer to the at least second selective charge extraction layer of said third photovoltaic stack, wherein the first photovoltaic stack and the third photovoltaic stack are photovoltaic stacks comprising a perovskite absorber, the second photovoltaic stack is a photovoltaic stack in which the absorber material has a lower band gap than that of the first stack and that of the third stack, and wherein said electrodes connecting said transparent electrical contact layers are independent of each other.
2 . The multi-junction photovoltaic cell according to claim 1 , wherein the first and third photovoltaic stack each comprises: one or more first protection and passivation layers for said absorbers, between said first selective charge extraction layers and said perovskite absorber, one or more second protection and passivation layers for said absorbers, between said one or more second selective charge extraction layers and said perovskite absorber.
3 . A photovoltaic device comprising a solar panel provided with a plurality of multi-junction photovoltaic cells according to claim 1 , and further comprising an electrical connection device adapted to connect the first electrode and the fifth electrode to the third electrode of said assemblies, and adapted to connect the second electrode and the sixth electrode to the fourth electrode of said assemblies and create a multi-junction photovoltaic generator, said connection device being adapted to selectively disconnect the electrodes of the first stack of said assemblies or the electrodes of the third stack from the electrodes of the second stack of said assemblies.
4 . The photovoltaic device according to claim 3 , wherein, when a first face of the panel is arranged on the sunlight side and a second face of the panel is arranged on the shadow side, the electrical connection device is configured to connect the first photovoltaic stacks and the second photovoltaic stacks in order to form a first current/voltage generator, and to disconnect the third photovoltaic stacks from the first and second photovoltaic stacks in order to place said third photovoltaic stacks in a self-repair mode; and wherein, when the second face of the panel is arranged on the sunlight side and the first face of said panel on the shadow side, the electrical connection device is configured to connect the third photovoltaic stacks and the second photovoltaic stacks in order to form a second current/voltage generator, and to disconnect the first photovoltaic stacks from the second and third photovoltaic stacks in order to place the first photovoltaic stacks in a self-repair mode.
5 . A photovoltaic system comprising at least: a photovoltaic device according to claim 3 , a frame provided with turning means for turning the panel, a converter module with MPPT regulation, and a regeneration module for regenerating said perovskite absorbers, wherein the converter module comprises means for monitoring the irradiance detected by the panel and means for monitoring weather data, means for monitoring the degradation of the perovskite absorbers and means for controlling said turning means which are configured to turn said panel over in the event of a degradation exceeding a defined threshold in those among said first or third photovoltaic stacks with perovskite absorber that are positioned on the sunlight side in order to position them on the shadow side and to position the others among said first and third photovoltaic stacks with perovskite absorber on the sunlight side, the connection device being configured to disconnect those among said first and third photovoltaic stacks that are positioned on the shadow side of the converter module and to connect it to the regeneration module.
6 . The photovoltaic system according to claim 5 , wherein the regeneration module comprises at least one of: a device for short-circuiting the electrodes of a photovoltaic stack with perovskite absorber that is connected to it, a device for open-circuiting the electrodes of said photovoltaic stack with perovskite absorber that is connected to it, a device for generating voltage pulses towards the photovoltaic stack with perovskite absorber that is connected to it, and comprises means for measuring the current/voltage, in darkness, of said photovoltaic stacks with perovskite absorber that are connected to it.
7 . A method for controlling a photovoltaic device of claim 3 , comprising a sequence of: one or more measurements of the detected irradiance and the temperature at said at least one panel, and measurements of weather data; a detection of whether it is a day or night situation; a. when night is detected: i. one or more recordings and analyses of the regeneration of the first and third photovoltaic stacks with perovskite absorber, estimation of the time required for maximum regeneration of said stacks, and implementation of regeneration processes for said first and third photovoltaic stacks with perovskite absorber of said panel; b. when day is detected: i. one or more sequences comprising: regeneration of the shadow-side photovoltaic stacks with perovskite absorber; estimation of the expected performances of the sunlight-side absorber photovoltaic stacks with perovskite absorber; measurement of the degradation of the sunlight-side photovoltaic stacks with perovskite absorber relative to said expected performances; and estimation of the regeneration rate of the shadow-side photovoltaic stacks with perovskite absorber of said panel relative to said expected performances in order to detect a regeneration rate giving a higher performance of the shadow-side photovoltaic stacks with absorber than the performance of the sunlight-side photovoltaic stacks with perovskite absorber after degradation; and a detection such that: ii. when the regeneration of the shadow-side photovoltaic stacks with perovskite absorber corresponds to a higher performance than the performance of the sunlight-side photovoltaic stacks with perovskite absorber after degradation, said panel is turned over; iii. when the regeneration of the shadow-side photovoltaic stacks with perovskite absorber remains lower than the performance of the degraded sunlight-side photovoltaic stacks with perovskite absorber, the panel is maintained in its position.
8 . The method for controlling panels according to claim 7 , wherein the estimation of the regeneration rate of the shadow-side photovoltaic stacks with perovskite absorber of said panel comprises current/voltage measurements in shadow/in darkness.
9 . The method for controlling panels according to claim 7 , wherein the regeneration steps comprise at least one of the following operations: one or more applications of voltage pulses across the photovoltaic stacks with perovskite absorber, short-circuiting said photovoltaic stacks with perovskite absorber, one or more times, and open-circuiting said photovoltaic stacks with perovskite absorber, one or more times.
10 . The method for controlling panels according to claim 7 , wherein said sequence is repeated throughout the operation of said panels.
11 . The photovoltaic system according to claim 5 , comprising a processor associated with a program memory containing a program provided with instructions configured to perform the following steps: a sequence of: one or more measurements of the detected irradiance and the temperature at said at least one panel, and measurements of weather data; and a detection of whether it is a day or night situation; a. when night is detected: i. one or more recordings and analyses of the regeneration of the first and third photovoltaic stacks with perovskite absorber, estimation of the time required for maximum regeneration of said stacks, and implementation of regeneration processes for said first and third photovoltaic stacks with perovskite absorber of said panel; b. when day is detected: i. one or more sequences comprising: regeneration of the shadow-side photovoltaic stacks with perovskite absorber; estimation of the expected performances of the sunlight-side absorber photovoltaic stacks with perovskite absorber; measurement of the degradation of the sunlight-side photovoltaic stacks with perovskite absorber relative to said expected performances; and estimation of the regeneration rate of the shadow-side photovoltaic stacks with perovskite absorber of said panel relative to said expected performances in order to detect a regeneration rate giving a higher performance of the shadow-side photovoltaic stacks with absorber than the performance of the sunlight-side photovoltaic stacks with perovskite absorber after degradation; and a detection such that: ii. when the regeneration of the shadow-side photovoltaic stacks with perovskite absorber corresponds to a higher performance than the performance of the sunlight-side photovoltaic stacks with perovskite absorber after degradation, said panel is turned over by controlling said turning means; iii. when the regeneration of the shadow-side photovoltaic stacks with perovskite absorber remains lower than the performance of the degraded sunlight-side photovoltaic stacks with perovskite absorber, the panel is maintained in its position.
12 . A computer-readable non-transitory storage medium on which the program of claim 11 is stored.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD This disclosure relates to the field of renewable solar energies and concerns a new architecture of multi-junction solar generation units. In the case of thin-film multi-junction solar cells, in particular film layers based on perovskite materials, these layers may undergo reversible degradation and therefore are able to allow self-repair of these layers and therefore of the cells. BACKGROUND Silicon solar cells degrade slowly but irreversibly and their average production life cycle is on the order of 40 years (considering a degradation of 0.5% per year and an end of life at 80% of the nominal power). The novel perovskite cell technologies, which will be used in perovskite/silicon multi-junction modules to limit thermalization losses and thus increase efficiency, undergo a more significant degradation according to ongoing studies which varies with the technologies analyzed (on the order of 0.05% to 0.5% per day, for example). However, some of this degradation, linked among other things to the electronic and ionic nature of the charges in perovskite materials, is reversible, which makes it possible to consider a self-repairing of the perovskite layers of multi-junction cells. The reversible degradation of perovskite layers is linked in particular to the movement of ions within the structure of these layers. Unlike the reference case of silicon, transient phenomena are observed under real conditions, for example in day-night cycles, and one can take advantage of these phenomena to reduce degradation and regain optimal cell performance. Currently, self-repairing in the case of reversible degradation is limited to recovery during night periods, this recovery being similar to resting the cell. Currently, self-repair, which is limited to the duration of night periods and which in particular is not controlled by an algorithm, may not take into account all of the needs for self-repair created by the cells' use. In addition, the self-repair is not optimized, and in particular does not allow searching for and providing the regeneration optimum required in order to return to the initial performance point of the cells at each cycle/day. SUMMARY In view of this situation, the objective of the present disclosure is, on the one hand, to propose cells that allow optimizing their self-repair and to produce photovoltaic modules provided with such cells, and, on the other hand, to provide methods and algorithms for controlling such photovoltaic modules in order to control and maximize the self-repair of said cells. To do so, the invention is based on photovoltaic assemblies configured to allow the use of first photovoltaic stacks as a power generator while a second photovoltaic stack undergoes a self-repair process during the day. More specifically, this disclosure proposes a photovoltaic cell provided with a photovoltaic assembly comprising, from a first face of the assembly to a second face of the assembly: a first electrode for connecting a first transparent electrical contact layer to at least a first selective charge extraction layer of a first photovoltaic stack,the first photovoltaic stack,a second electrode for connecting a second transparent electrical contact layer to at least a second selective charge extraction layer of said first photovoltaic stack,a first transparent insulating layer,a third electrode for connecting a first transparent electrical contact layer to at least a second selective charge extraction layer of a second photovoltaic stack,the second photovoltaic stack,a fourth electrode for connecting a second transparent electrical contact layer to at least a first selective charge extraction layer of said second photovoltaic stack,a second transparent insulating layer,a fifth electrode for connecting a first transparent electrical contact layer to at least a first selective charge extraction layer of a third photovoltaic stack,the third photovoltaic stack,a sixth electrode for connecting a second transparent electrical contact layer to at least a second selective charge extraction layer of said third photovoltaic stack, wherein: the first photovoltaic stack and the third photovoltaic stack are photovoltaic stacks with perovskite absorber,the second photovoltaic stack is a photovoltaic stack in which the absorber material has a lower band gap than that of the first stack and that of the third stack, in particular an absorber material that is silicon, another perovskite, a thin-film absorber, or some other material,said electrodes connecting said transparent electrical contact layers are independent of each other. Such an assembly makes it possible to produce panel cells in which the perovskite photovoltaic stacks may be isolated from the rest of the assembly in order to be regenerated. In the assembly, the first and third photovoltaic stacks may each comprise: one or more first protection and passivation layers for said perovskite absorber, between said first selective charge extraction l